I am a lover of short stories. I know that short stories turn some readers off, but I am always impressed with an author that can weave a captivating tale in only a few pages.
Elissa Schappell is one such author. I’ve recently been reading Schappell’s Blueprints for Building Better Girls and am thoroughly enjoying her stories of women who exhibit both vulnerability and strength – sometimes all in the same story – as they weather the experience known as womanhood.
Even though the book is comprised of short stories, they are mostly linked in subtle ways and possess a fluidity that makes me want to read the book from beginning to end like I would a novel. Normally, I enjoy skipping around a book of short stories, picking and choosing which ones to nibble on a little bit at a time. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why I enjoy a good book of short stories. In this day of constant distraction, sometimes I just need to read a story from a book of short stories and know that I can come back several months later without having to reacquaint myself with the plot or characters.
That being said, I am plowing straight through Blueprints for Building Better Girls without even a thought of jumping from one story to the next, and I am finding myself not wanting to read anything else at the moment.
Check out this interview with Elissa Schappell on therumpus.net!
by Anna
Comments are closed.